Forever, Calen
by TalaDentro
Summary: Legolas meets a nameless elfling who within moments becomes the center of his universe. SLASH. Get that? That means there are gay goings-on. So don't read this if you don't like it.


**A/N: Sorry it's been awhile since I posted anything, but college, life, turning 21, getting rear-ended, chiropractors AND physical therapy; all these things have a way of getting in the way.**

**I've only ever seen the LOTR movies. I did read somewhere though that elves in this universe don't really have mates but that they do marry for love. Either way, there are mates in this story so…yeah.**

**The one thing I will explain here is his age because that is not really addressed in the story. Harry was twenty-five years old when he came to Middle Earth, because he was turned into an elf, he appears to be a child because of the slow way elves age but he is technically an adult (its short of a grey area, not that it matters as there is no sex in this story since to the elves he IS a child). I was going to make him around 40, but turns out elves reach their adult height by age 50 (which is around the time they first hit puberty) so I made him younger because I want him to be an elfling.**

**Warning: Slash**

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

**Beta: FirstLaugh-LastTears to whom I send lots of chocolate and my eternal love and gratitude.**

Legolas stared at the mysterious elfling, his heart constricting in his chest. He couldn't believe it…after nearly three thousand years of life he'd finally found his mate. A mere two weeks ago his father had sent him to the council to discuss the one ring and what to do about the growing threat to Middle Earth. There had been whispers of an elfling with strange abilities, similar to those of an Ishtari, appearing in the Shire, but he'd disregarded such ridiculous rumors. There hadn't been an elfling since Arwen of Rivendell, and what would an elfling (should one exist) be doing so far away from its people?

Yet here he was. Messy black hair, luminescent pale skin, and glowing green eyes that reminded Legolas of the trees in his homeland. The elfling was small for his age, which they had determined to be around twenty-five. To humans he looked about ten-years-old. Glorfindel was standing protectively behind him, a hand on his shoulder. Legolas couldn't help but glare, already jealous.

The elfling stared back at him, slipping out of Glorfindel's grasp and slowly walking over to where Legolas was seated within the council circle. He placed his small hand gently on Legolas' cheek and whispered softly, "You will wait for me…won't you?" His small voice was soft and pleading, almost desperate.

Legolas wrapped his hand around the child's and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly. "Forever beloved."

"Hopefully not that long." The elfling replied with a little lopsided smile. It was nearly Legolas' undoing. It was so beautifully mischievous, full of innocent fun. He tried to shake the inappropriate thoughts from his mind, it was difficult but years of training and being in control of himself helped him to stay in his seat – as opposed to tackling the boy in front of the council.

There was a cough to his left and he glanced up and around to see the rest of the council staring at them with unabashed curiosity. A few of the men looked disgusted, but it was only to be expected, the elfling was but a child to their eyes and they knew nothing of elfin ways. Elrond looked more than a touch concerned. After all, though the boy was an elfling and thus held in high regard and very cherished; he was still a mystery. Gandalf was beaming at the two elves, pleased that they had found each other.

From the corner of his eye, Legolas noticed Estel grinning at him with approval and slight envy. He didn't want the elfling for himself no, merely longed for his own love, long since denied him. Arwen's father, Elrond, did not want his daughter married to a mortal whose life would be so much shorter than her own. His greatest fear was that she would fade from her grief.

His attention was drawn back to his mate when the soft voice asked, "Will you name me?"

"What?" Legolas asked, startled. How could he not have a name?

The elfling blushed and looked down at his feet. "I don't remember anything from…before." He whispered, somewhat pitifully. "Not my name or anything, and no one ever heard of me. So I don't have a name yet. Glorfindel wanted to name me, but something told me to wait." He blushed a little harder. "I guess I knew about you even before I met you."

Legolas' brow furrowed slightly. A name for his beloved… He stared into the green eyes and before giving it any real thought mumbled, "Calen."

"Calen?" Came the hopeful query.

"Yes, Calen."

"It's a good name." The elfling said. "What does it mean?"

"Green."

The elfling blushed, passing a hand across his eyes as if to block the color from view. Legolas smiled at his shy nature. He was adorable.

* * *

><p>The Fellowship gathered at the edge of Rivendell, preparing to depart. Or rather, <em>attempting<em> to depart. Calen was desperately clinging to Legolas' legs demanding he be allowed to go with them.

"I won't be able to protect you if I stay here!"

"I can look after myself Calen." Legolas murmured, trying to be reassuring.

"Yeah!" Pippin said enthusiastically. "I've been practicing sword fighting with him, he's really good. No orc would stand a chance!"

"I'll watch his back and protect him from anything he can't see coming." Aragorn promised.

Calen shook his head furiously. "Can't protect you while I'm here!" He repeated stubbornly.

Gimli snorted impatiently, "Can we stop coddling the boy? We're wasting daylight."

Legolas glared at the dwarf and drew his beloved away from the others. "Calen," he said softly. "If you come with us I'll focus on you. Where does that leave Frodo? Where does that leave the rest of the fellowship? I have to be focused so that I can protect them and get us all back safely. I won't be able to do that if I don't know you're safe."

Calen bit his lip, tears welling in his eyes. "B-b-but, what if you never come back? Y-you're all I have."

Legolas picked the boy up and held him tightly against his chest. He pressed his lips to the messy black hair and whispered, "I have someone waiting for me now. I will always come back."

* * *

><p>An orc took a swing at Legolas from behind. Just before the deadly stroke hit the elf's neck, a barrier appeared between him and the sword. The orc gave a shriek of pain and dropped to the ground. Legolas turned to see the creature's body being consumed by flames.<p>

Soon, nothing was left of it but ash. Legolas stared around with bewildered eyes. Then he saw a flash of brilliant green standing just a few feet away. "Calen?"

Tears were leaking steadily from the boy's eyes. "I-I'm sorry…" He took a deep breath, as if trying not to sob. "He-he was going to hurt you! I didn't know what else to do!"

Three orcs leapt forward to kill them while they were distracted. Legolas quickly cut them down, running to Calen and grabbing him up. "Foolish boy! I'm not mad at you for defending me. But I thought I told you to stay in Rivendell where it was safe."

"The lady told us Gandalf died. I was worried about you! Without his protection you could've been in real trouble. But, no one would take me to find you. So I…" He trailed off, knowing his older mate would be angry if he told him what he'd done.

"You went off on your own?" Legolas tried not to shout, but didn't quite manage. The danger his mate had been in…and he'd had no idea!

The boy blushed and put his hot face against his mate's neck. "Yes." He admitted softly. "That's why it took me so long to find you."

Legolas struggled to maintain his grip on Calen while battling the orcs who'd yet to let up. He hoped Gandalf came with help soon… He didn't know how much longer they could all hold out.

"Oh little one," he mumbled. "What on Middle Earth am I going to do with you?"

The boy's eyes were wide and pleading. "Love me, and trust me enough to do my part."

Legolas bit his lip worriedly.

"You can't continue to fight with me in your arms, you'll tire too quickly. I promise I'll survive."

Slowly Legolas set Calen on the ground. He stroked a hand across the boy's forehead and down a soft cheek. "If you don't, I'll never forgive you."

Calen smiled. "I know."

* * *

><p>Later that night, when the battle had been won, they lay together in the bed they'd been granted. Legolas curled protectively around his little love. Calen cuddled against his chest, Legolas' hair wrapped about his fingers, holding loosely so as not to hurt the elf.<p>

They didn't speak, just enjoyed each other's company. The silence was comfortable, both just weary from the stresses of the day. They would sleep if they could, but the battle was still fresh in their minds. Their thoughts paralleled each other. Both thinking of how close they'd come to losing the other.

So now they would treasure each moment they had together and not fill up such precious time with idle chatter. For there would be more battles to fight, more chances something could go wrong. Silently they both vowed to themselves that they would protect the other with their lives.

Legolas tightened his hold on Harry, bringing them even closer together. "I love you, Calen, more than anything."

"I love you too, Legolas, more than life."

The End.

**A/N: I wrote this quite a bit ago, but I couldn't decide if I wanted to write more of it or not so I didn't post it. But, finally made up my mind, I like it where it ends. I may decide to write more of it later, because there is a bit more that I want to do with this couple, and I kind of want to write about how/why Harry found himself on Middle Earth, but I don't know. I don't want to overwhelm what I have…if that makes sense to anyone. Hope you enjoyed. Damn it...I have an odd number of stories again. *sigh***


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